Supporters of the Regulatory Accountability Act say it would keep federal agencies on a tight leash and prevent the sort of regulatory overreach that Republicans complained about during the Obama administration.

But it's unclear whether Portman will be able to attract enough support from moderate Democrats to overcome a Senate filibuster.

It's one of the GOP's top regulatory priorities and many believe it is more likely to win bipartisan support than other items on their wish list.

"You have the House blistering the Senate with all these bazookas, but the only one that's serious is the Regulatory Accountability Act," said Rena Steinzor, a law professor at the University of Maryland and member of the left-leaning Center for Progressive Reform, who opposes the measure.

Easing regs on small businesses

The GOP's Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act would require federal agencies to consider the impact their rules have on small businesses. Agencies would conduct a "regulatory flexibility" analysis to determine how many small businesses would be affected by rules.

Those that are determined to have a big impact on small businesses would also be subjected to further periodic review.

Proponents say the bill would help small businesses cut through Washington red tape. But critics say it's intended to “help big companies under the guise of helping small businesses.”

“We need something that is targeted at real small businesses, like mom-and-pop shops,” said Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate at the left-leaning Public Citizen.

The House passed the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act in January. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) has hopes some Senate Democrats will sign on to the Senate version, but so far none have.

Critics say it would allow Republicans to kill regulations much more easily, even if they just control one branch of Congress.

Currently, Republicans have the Congressional Review Act, which lets Congress strike down some regulations on the books. But it's only effective when the same party controls both chambers and the White House.

The House passed the REINS Act in January, but even Republicans admit it's a long shot in the Senate.

With limited exceptions, federal agencies would be prohibited from issuing new rules until they have been posted online for six months for public review.

Each month, federal agencies would send a report to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), detailing the rules they plan to issue in the coming year. The report would include a summary of each regulation, the estimated costs, and when they expect to issue the rule. OIRA would then post this information online.

Under the ALERT Act, these rules could not take effect until this information has been posted online for six months.

Republicans say it will bring more transparency to the regulatory process, but critics fear it will slow down much-need protections.

The House passed the bill in January, but it faces a challenging path in the Senate.